Arsenal Make Chelsea Blue

Arsenal vanquished Chelsea at the Emirates on Monday, 3-1, marking the first time that Arsene Wenger left the pitch with a smile on his face in more than 2 years against the Blues.

Arsenal pressured high up the pitch, using surprise starter Theo Walcott, to expose Chelsea poor ball management out of the back. Two of Arsenal’s three goals came on gaffes in their central third, but that might have been a chain reaction as Chelsea missing Nicolas Anelka due to a bum knee and Didier Drogba, due to playing defense continually in his own defensive third, had no outlet over the top.

By the time Chelsea inserted Gael Kakuta to attempt to stretch Arsenal defense vertically it was too late, despite an Drogba-to-Ivanovic set play score. It didn’t help that Kakuta looked very much his 19-years-of-age.

The game was not without some questionable play from Arsenal who saw Robin Van Persie dispossessed in his few possessions and Jack Wilshere continue his uneven play. However, stellar play from the captain Cesc Fabregas and stand-in center back Johan Djourou far outweighed the few subpar home time performances by Arsenal as they dominated possession and the rest of the score sheet.